Kashmir's SERF demands 10-yr tax break, int'l aid from Centre

State Economic Reconstruction Forum, an amalgam of trade bodies in Kashmir which was formed after devastating floods, today asked for a slew of measures from the Centre, including tax holiday for 10 years and allowing international aid for recontruction in the valley.
"If the government of India can compensate the losses, we do not need international aid. But the response from the Centre so far has not been encouraging," Peer Ashraf, a member of the SERF, told reporters.
Several other SERF members voiced their concern over the alleged slow response from the Centre in initiating the process of reconstruction in the flood-affected areas of the state.

Asked about the reasons for the Centre not allowing foreign aid, Ashraf said, "we are living in a conflict area and this is a Muslim-dominated place.
"There have been double standards in dealing with calamities that struck in Uttarakhand, Bihar or any other place in the country and Kashmir. If this scale of devastation would have been elsewhere, the Prime Minister would have been camping there."
Among other demands, the SERF leaders sought a 10 year income tax exemption for Kashmir valley.

G M Dug, chairman of the SERF, said the banks should follow the guidelines issued by RBI for dealing with loan accounts in calamity-hit areas.

"Although RBI guidelines give banks a blueprint to be immediately implemented in case of a disaster, our banks have intentionally failed to provide any such measure.
"Instead they have resorted to unfair practices... They have delayed implementation of RBI guidelines in order to charge interest for the month of September (when floods hit the valley)," Dug said.
He said the SERF demands that the government should provide an ex-gratia relief of Rs 10 lakh each for damaged houses and business losses.
"The rest of the gap of assessed loss should be given on loan by the Central government through banks which will in turn be financed by World Bank and Asian Development Bank," he said.

The trade leaders castigated the state government saying it was making tall claims about providing succour to the victims but was not visible on the ground.
"The ministers are busy doing constituency politics while common people are waiting on the roadside for essentials like cooking gas, kerosense, ration, clothing and shelter," Ashraf said.